Happy 2013 from ICMI

A new day, a new year, a new and blank page in my day planner… (Yes, I still plot out my days the old-school way.) Nothing gets me more amped up than an opportunity to start fresh!

So I am really excited to share with you that ICMI has launched a shiny, new editorial calendar for 2013. In this comprehensive calendar you’ll find the industry topics we’ll be covering each month, as well as the ever-important submission deadline dates.

This month, we’re focusing on Culture & Morale in the contact center, including High Performance Culture, The Role of Leadership, Incentive Programs, Partnering for Success and Culture-in-Action.

We're only 3 days into the new year and already ICMI has kicked off the month with some helpful - and fun - culture & morale-related content, including and introduction to the the 5 Steps of the Employee Engagement Cycle and a look at the high-performance culture that makes the employees at BuildASign.com a world-class 'Customer Love' team.

I hope that you not only enjoy these stories, but are also inspired enough by them to want to share your team’s story with us, too!

If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It.

Back in November, we asked if you considered your contact center culture to be unique. To the 52% of you who replied, "Yes, absolutely.": Well? We’re waiting to see more! Tell us about the fantastic workplace culture you’ve got in place that makes your team thrilled to come back day after day. Tell us about the challenges you over came to get there. Show us the fun things that your team does on daily, weekly or monthly basis!

And for the rest of you, if you’re looking to improve your culture, we’ve got you covered there, too. Share your biggest culture concerns, or maybe a brand new program that you’re in the midst of implementing. We want to hear it all!

In 2013, ICMI has resolved to strengthen our commitment to engaging with YOU – our community members – and getting you to engage with each other, too. We truly value your industry expertise and insights, and we encourage you to in turn help inspire your colleagues by contributing to ICMI.com. So, why not make New Year's resolution to yourself, and your business, to get more involved with contributing to the ICMI community? And let me remind you that there are many ways to contribute – such as writing, blogging, producing videos or graphics, or speaking. But, the contribution opportunities don’t end there!

Visit ICMI’s Contributor Interest Form, which includes a link to our complete editorial calendar and topics as well as a listing of all the different ways that you can contribute, as well as a pre-recorded webinar that walks you through each and every one of those options.

If you're not sure where to start - don't worry! We're here to help. Please feel free to email, tweet or connect with me on any of ICMI's social channels, and I will gladly help you find the best way to share your knowledge with the entire ICMI community.

I wish you all the best for this new year - and I look forward to hearing from you soon!